Bay Ward Wide Open

With the made and rarely kept promise by outgoing councillor Mark Taylor to only serve two terms, there will be a new councillor in Bay ward tonight.
The five vying for your vote are Erica Dath, Don Dransfield, Theresa Kavanagh, Marc Lugert and Trevor Robinson, a returning candidate.
Let’s be frank – since the polls are already open – the candidate with the most experience in this ward is Kavanagh. She’s a school board trustee. She knows the area, she knows politics and she has new ideas that deserve an audience.

Again, not wanting to dismiss any of the candidates, the race is widely seen as a contest between Kavanagh and Don Dransfield.
Interestingly enough, both have spouses who’ve either been in or are involved in politics themselves. Kavanagh is married to Alex Cullen, who held the ward before Taylor. (Please don’t hold that against her!) Dransfield, who is Mayor Jim Watson’s choice, is married to Liberal MP Anita Vandenbeld.

The MP for Ottawa West–Nepean sent a robocall to her constituents asking them to vote for her husband in the upcoming municipal election and many believe it could be a violation of the code of conduct for federal politicians.
Vandenbeld’s robocall opens with her asking the listener to vote for her husband Don Dransfield, who’s running for city council.

“As your federal MP,” Vandenbeld says in the call, “I’m looking for a municipal counterpart to who’s going to fight as hard for the people of the community as I do.”

That message appeared to rub some people on social media the wrong way. Seriously, whether or not it breaks any rules, it’s clearly so inappropriate. And it shows the lengths Dransfield is willing to go to win.

In the Rogers debate, Kavanagh was impressive. She was reasoned, knowledgeable and relatable. And she showed a lot of heart when Dransfield absolutely lost his way during the debate and couldn’t recover. Not sure what happened there. But it was Kavanagh who kindly stepped in to make the moment somewhat less awkward – finishing his thought and giving him credit. Very classy.
Kudos to Dath for an impressive showing, but this debate belonged to Kavanagh – and is the right and reasonable candidate to give your support to.